Albatros Productions, Ltd.

Windsock Datafile #133
Curtiss Jenny - Vol 2
by  C.A. Owers
Reviewed By  Dick Montgomery, IPMS# 14003

[book cover image]

MSRP: $20
Website: www.windsockdatafilespecials.co.uk

This is volume two of a pair of Windsock Datafiles covering the Curtiss Jenny. Volume one was reviewed previously by a member of the IPMS Reviewer Corps, and that review can be found here on the IPMS/USA web site.

This volume features 36 pages of historical text, an excellent selection of black-and-white photos, two 3-view drawings in color, and a set of color images of a surviving Jenny. This publication continues the tradition set by Windsock Datafiles of outstanding and scholarly research.

There are two areas of content that modelers hope to find when purchasing a book: "historical content" and "modeling content". Both are found in abundance in volume two. The author provides an in-depth coverage of the acquisition and use of JN-3 and JN-4A aircraft in the service of the RFC and RNAS. Documentation for this coverage is detailed including ordering information from contracts for the acquisition of aircraft and including serial numbers for aircraft placed into service. Included are sections that detail the use of the Jenny by the British, the Canadians and the Australians. Enriched with interesting stories about the use of the Jenny in flying schools, the text is accompanied by a number of black-and-white images.

The images provide some very significant detail for the modeler. The photographs show the Jenny from almost every angle a modeler would wish to view. The rigging is clearly visible in most pictures and the general configuration of struts (different from one model of the Jenny to another) is easily seen. Of great assistance to the modeler who wishes to "detail" a Jenny are the images of the engine, cockpit area, and undercarriage.

Windsock Datafiles usually contain a set of 3-view drawings in 1/72 and 1/48 scale. The 1/72 scale drawings show an aircraft not only from the top and underside, but also from the port and starboard views. The 1/48 drawings show only the top and underside views. All drawings include the rigging and control cables. The back cover, on both the inner and outer page, features 3-view color drawings in an approximate scale of 1/72.

Of great use were two reference items, both found at the end of the publication in the Appendices. The first consists of a set of drawings showing the rigging of the control cables from the rudder pedals and stick to the control surfaces. These drawings are labeled for the JN4-B and the JN4-D. The second item of note is a table showing the number and designation of JN-4 and JN-6 aircraft that were on hand at various airfields in December 1919. Of particular interest to me, because I live not 10 miles from the area formerly known as Kelly Field, are the quantities of these variants of the Jenny stationed at Kelly in that year.

This publication is highly recommended for its historical content, excellent selection of photographs and excellent discussion of color, markings, and 3-view drawings. Many thanks to Albatros Productions for supplying this fine product to IPMS/USA for review.